


(I Love) To Dance With (You)

by Anasten27



Series: Of Windy Days at the Ocean [10]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Dancing, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, One-Sided Crush, but you know, having fun in general, just use jokes to cover up all your anxiety!, ven is still a wreck inside
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-21
Updated: 2019-05-21
Packaged: 2020-03-09 04:08:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18909247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anasten27/pseuds/Anasten27
Summary: "...Do you want to go at all? :T""Of course I do! But it's too late for me now. I guess I'm just giving up on this one… There will be other parties maybe…"She had thought that had been the end of the conversation, maybe Ven had gotten bored because she was being too annoying. The next message took a couple minutes to arrive and she was very surprised by its question."Then... How about I take you?"(In which Ven goes with Kairi to her school party and they have a fun night)





	(I Love) To Dance With (You)

**Author's Note:**

> 9k words... I am dead. How??
> 
> Anyways, enjoy the fluff while it lasts!

Kairi sighed. There was just no way she was going to that school dance now. Weeks had passed by and no one had invited her. Well, it's not like she had asked anyone either, so what was she complaining about?

Sure, dancing sounded fun, but there was no one at her school she felt so comfortable around as she felt with Riku. And her friend Selphie would probably be with her date all night so she was definitely out of the question.

Maybe she was being too picky. She could just call any one of her classmates that she knew didn't have dance partners either and go with them... No, the party was less than a week away. She'd probably look desperate and make the guy feel like he was just a last resort. She didn't want to go through that awkwardness.

Perhaps she could just go by herself, but what would she do? Stand in a corner all night, eat snacks, dance alone and then go home? No thanks.

She flopped down on her couch, taking her phone out. Would Riku know anyone? Maybe. But they knew each other's friends, and she knew most of them also had people to go with already.

She really was out of options, huh? She should just give up and forget about it, it was a lost cause. She should stop worrying!

Her phone rang with a chirping noise. She didn't need to see who had sent her a message, since she had given a different notification bell to each one of her friends. That had been a hard task, but she had managed to pick a special one for each of them.

She opened up the message to look at the picture she knew would be there. It was a photo of a four leafed clover. After that, a written message.

"Heard from Aqua that your school dance is gonna be this week.   
Are you going? :0"

She started typing back. "No, I don't have anyone to go with :/"

"What?? But don't you have a couple more days before the event?   
Can't you get someone to take you last minute?"

"Nooo, that would be so awkward! >_<   
It would just look like I'm desperate and I really don't want it to seem that way..."

"Hm… Don't you have any more friends at school who could do you a favor like that? :("

"No, they're all taken... X("

"What about outside of school?   
Do you have any friendly neighbors that could go?"

Oh! She hadn't thought about that. Could she take outsiders to the party? She thought she remembered Selphie bringing someone from another school once.

"I do have neighbors my age, but I'm not really friends with any of them..."

"...Do you want to go at all? :T"

"Of course I do! But it's too late for me now. I guess I'm just giving up on this one… There will be other parties maybe…"

She had thought that had been the end of the conversation, maybe Ven had gotten bored because she was being too annoying. The next message took a couple minutes to arrive and she was very surprised by its question.

"Then... How about I take you?"

 

Ventus swore his heart was jumping out of his chest. His heartbeat felt like the loudest thing he had ever heard in his life. Now not only did his face feel hot, he felt entirely on fire. If only there was a way for the butterflies in his stomach to disappear as he waited for her answer. He clutched the phone in his hands tighter.

Aqua had suggested a few days ago to ask her about the dance and, if she didn't have a partner, to offer to take her himself. It had taken him a long time to muster up the courage to talk to her about it. He had thought it ridiculous at first, of course she'd already have someone by then. And there was no way she'd say yes to him if she didn't.

And how would that even work? First of all, he was from another world entirely. Second, he had never gone to school. Not that he could remember, anyways. Sure, he had studied under his Master, but that worked in a completely different way. Third, he didn't know their music or how they danced. He knew formal dances because those were the most common across worlds, but aside from that he didn't know how to dance. This was just a ridiculous plan.

Less than a minute must have passed since he sent his text, but it felt like an agonizing eternity for him. Three dots appeared on screen as she started typing back.

"Really? You want to take me to the dance? You don't even live here, wouldn't that be too much trouble for you?"

Okay, Ventus, deep breaths.   
"Of course it wouldn't be a problem!   
You sounded so excited to go at first, and now you're gonna lose that opportunity just because no one was brave enough to invite you?   
I'll take you then! We're friends, I wanna help you out."

It was so hard to write out his answer without actually revealing his feelings. He was just being a good friend for her, nothing else. She wouldn't see him in any other light either.

"That is so nice of you! Yeah, I'd love to go with you, Ven! :D"

If his heart was beating wildly before, it just shot out of his ribcage right then and there. He was dead. The world would never see him again.

She had said yes! He did it! His smile couldn't be bigger right now. He jumped into the air and celebrated his small victory. He couldn't believe she had actually agreed! He quickly sat back down and started texting a reply.

"Great! It's this Friday, right? At what time do I pick you up? Is it formal? Casual?"

"Maybe at 9:00? The school's not too far from my house, so we won't take long to get there.  
And it's casual, so wear whatever you want.  
Also, I know you use your armor to travel, but I think it'd be best if you left it at my place. Don't want people freaking out or anything, haha."

"Sure! So I guess I'll see you on Friday? :D"

"Yup! Can't wait! :)"

This was really happening... He had to tell Terra and Aqua! He sprinted out of his room and ran through the castle calling their names. He didn't care much who he found first, he just wanted to tell someone how happy he was right now.

He found Aqua coming out of the library with some books on her arms. He slowed to a stop, almost bumping into her. Waving his arms and jumping up and down frantically, he told her what had happened. She beamed and congratulated him on finally asking Kairi to go.

Ventus followed Aqua down the hall as they kept talking. He voiced his concern on his dancing skills and lack of knowledge of the Islands’ music. She suggested they look for information in books later and maybe even tried that digital library in their gummiphones.

That sounded like a nice plan. None of them were really good with their phones yet, except for the texting and calling features. They really needed to start exploring the different tools on their technological devices.

They bumped into Terra on their way to the lounge room. Ven caught him up on the recent events and what he and Aqua had been talking about. Terra ruffled his hair as he told him how happy he was for him. Ven swatted his hands away smiling.

Once at the lounge room they all sat down on the couches. They kept talking as everyone did their own thing. Aqua flipped through the pages of her books, looking for some specific instructions for something. Maybe it was an arts and crafts thing, maybe it was a cooking recipe, Ven wasn't completely sure. Terra, on the other hand, started carving a piece of wood he had brought with him. Meanwhile, Ventus tried to figure out how this Moogle app on his phone worked, trying to see if he could find the information he was looking for.

They continued discussing more about the topic. He needed to find a nice casual outfit too. He had a lot of training clothes because, you know, they did that everyday, but not many comfortable or casual ones. Wait... Destiny Islands surely had its own definition of "casual". Not only did he have to worry about dancing, but now he had to look up what would be appropriate to wear too? This was going to be a long week...

 

Kairi, giddy and excited, got up and skipped over to her closet. Choosing a few days in advance for a nice outfit never hurt anyone. She couldn't believe she'd actually get to go now! She had given up all hope and then suddenly a dear friend offered to take her at the last minute. She must be the luckiest girl alive to have such a nice friend like Ventus. The offer had definitely been unexpected, but welcome nonetheless.

Kairi rummaged through her closet. She'd love to wear a dress. Or maybe a skirt paired with a blouse would be nice! She paused for a moment. But wouldn't it be harder to dance in a dress...? Nah. She had fought in a dress before, she could handle it just fine. She kept looking.

After a while of picking and discarding clothes and combinations, she finally settled on a nice outfit. It wasn't what she had thought about earlier, but it would look incredibly good, she was sure.

She should tell Riku about this! He'd probably be really happy that she'd be able to go as well. She really couldn't wait for the week to go faster.

 

Ventus had found out that pop, hip hop and electronic music were the most common genres to be played at parties. He practiced dancing every chance he got. He had found some video tutorials that he was trying to learn, just in case.

He had also found out that breakdancing was something fairly close to what he could do when he used his Break Time command. So he had that card under his sleeve too.

Some songs he found while looking for the music played at Destiny Islands brought him a small feeling of familiarity, as if he had heard them before. He hadn't, of course, but he enjoyed listening to some of them as if he were rereading a book that he had long forgotten about.

Aside from trying to learn new things, he tried to remember old ones. Like formal dancing. He had read on some pages on Moogle that slow songs were sometimes played when nearing the end of the party.

He had asked Terra and Aqua to help him out on that one. Terra would remind him how the man usually danced and led the lady and then he'd practice with Aqua afterwards. He had forgotten how fun it actually was to dance like this.

With dancing being taken care of, he still had to worry about his outfit. He had first thought to go to the town nearest to the castle, but that wouldn't cut it, because it was still this world's fashion. So he settled on going on Wednesday to the Islands and buying clothes there. It was going to be a pain of a trip. He hated going shopping for clothes, but it was a sacrifice he was willing to make.

 

Kairi had been asked all week what had her in such a good mood. She answered to everyone that she had finally been invited to the party on Friday. When they asked who had done that she just told them it was a very dear friend of hers and that no, it wasn't Riku, he was going with someone else.

She was so excited thinking about how much fun she'd have that sometimes she forgot to pay attention in class. Her teachers were not very happy with that. She didn't care though, nothing could ruin her mood!

She had told Riku she was going, but not with who yet. She wanted to keep it as a sort of surprise. Kairi was sure he probably thought it was someone from school. Oh, that couldn't be a farther guess from the truth.

It had been pretty long since they had had a party. The school had said that the budget wasn't big enough that year so the dances would probably be less frequent. It was a shame, really, because a lot of people liked them. They did get out of control a couple times, but no one came out injured. Except that one time, though nobody really talks about it.

She was so positive and energetic that week that everyone around her started suspecting something else might be up. But when some of her classmates tried to figure it out, they couldn't find any answers. Some even tried to ask Riku, but he had nothing to offer either. It just seemed she was really happy to go dancing on Friday.

 

The week flew by quickly, Friday arriving sooner than Kairi expected. She was buzzing in her seat at school, trying her best to pay attention and stop herself from just up and leaving the classroom to go home and wait for the evening to come. The clock just seemed to move so slow today!

She wasn't even sure what had her in such a state. She was just going to a school party with her friend Ven. She had gone dancing before and had hung out with Ven plenty of times already, so what was it? Maybe the combination of both things made her brain believe it would be an incredibly awesome day? Whatever it was, she was fine with it. She felt ecstatic!

Kairi wished that time could go faster.

 

Ventus prayed time would go slower. The week had gone by too quickly, he wanted more time to prepare. He had his outfit ready, but he still needed to work on how he danced to what music.

Terra had assured him that he should relax, that people normally didn't really know how to dance and no one really cared much. Despite that, Ven still couldn't shake the feeling he'd make a fool of himself and just embarrass Kairi. He really didn't want that.

And so he kept practicing until the last minute. After that he showered, brushed his teeth, combed his hair a bit, and even put on some cologne (which had been Aqua's suggestion).

His clothes were the most casual thing he could find at the Islands. He wore jeans, a white t-shirt and a dark green plaid jacket that seemed to be a pretty popular thing recently. He'd have to change his shoes later, the armor boots necessary to travel through the lanes between.

He hadn't even left his world yet and his stomach was already doing somersaults. He just needed to breath in... And out... In, and out. In, out... This wasn't working! He was going to die as soon as his foot touched sand! He wouldn't even get to her house and he'd already be dead on the floor, left to be carried away by the ocean, to be seen no more by any other mortal!

He was being overdramatic again. Since he didn't have much time to waste he cast Cure over himself. Just a small one, only powerful enough to soothe him and his racing heart. Alright, he'd be fine... Hopefully.

Outside the castle goodbyes were said and good luck wishes given. Terra told him to take it easy, Aqua adding to remember to have fun. He thanked them both before equipping his armor. Getting up on his glider, Ven took off towards the sky. As soon as he crossed through the portal he started screaming.

 

Kairi loved wearing makeup. She didn't do it very often because it took a lot of time and effort. She had more important things to give her attention to, especially at school. Today she was going all out. Yes, it was a casual party, but there was no one here who could stop her. Besides, she had all the time in the world! No. That was a lie, but she had a fair amount of time.

She started with the foundation and then the concealer, because that is how it was done, of course she knew that. No, she definitely didn't have to look it up on her gummiphone. Shut up! She knew what she was doing! She curled her eyelashes, applied mascara, a soft lilac eyeshadow, eyeliner, a raspberry red lipstick, and lip gloss. She looked beautiful, but honestly who was she trying to impress? No one. She was doing this for herself simply because she loved it. She deserved to have fun!

She had dressed up prior to putting on her makeup. And, in her most humble opinion, she looked incredibly amazing. Like, simply dazzling. Gorgeous even! Okay, well, let's not exaggerate too much.

She still had quite some time before Ven had to pick her up. Getting some materials from her room, she started working on one of her latest projects: a dreamcatcher. She used to have one when she was little, but it broke at some point so she had to get rid of it. She wanted to have another one, so she was going to make it herself.

People said that dreamcatchers helped you sleep better, since they caught nightmares on their nets and feathers. Now, she didn't know if they actually worked, but it couldn't hurt to try, right?

The repetitive motion of wrapping wool around a circular wire was very calming. It was a relief after a week of such high energy. After half an hour of this, it was finally done. The circle completely covered in light blue wool. There was a knock on the front door. The rest of the dreamcatcher would have to wait.

She made sure everything was in place, smoothing out any wrinkles on her clothes, checking on a mirror her makeup was in place and that her brushed hair looked neat. Seeing that everything was perfect she walked over to the door and opened it.

 

Ventus didn't know how, but he had managed to calm down before he arrived at Kairi's home. He had landed at the beach, in a secluded area. The sun was gone by now, but the breeze was fairly warm.

He decided to take his armor off, putting it away in the bag where his shoes were, then change those, and head to her house completely ready to go out. He didn't want to waste time over there by taking too long changing, (but when he really thought about it, the time he spent at the beach would've been the same as if he had done that at her place).

He started walking over to Kairi's house, the lampposts illuminating his way with an orange hue. Okay, here was the plan: Go pick Kairi up, go to her school, dance with her, walk her back home, that was it. But the most crucial part: not die by the end of the day. Cool.

After a few minutes he finally stood before her door. He took a deep breath. Alright, he could do this. He was a chill guy, he could definitely keep his composure for a couple hours.

Then the door opened and his plan just flew out the window, broke it in a million pieces, and knocked someone in the face in its way, (that someone being him). He was so not prepared for this! His legs felt as weak as jello, stomach filled up with hundreds of butterflies, while his face lit up with the heat of a thousand burning suns. Kairi looked absolutely gorgeous and he had not been prepared at all.

She stood there at the door with a light and loose purple off shoulder top, knee length denim shorts, and black sandals. Her makeup made her face shine in a way he hadn't had the honor of seeing before. Her hair framing her soft face, eyes looking deeper thanks to that light lilac shade over them, nose cute as a button, her red lips-

He had to stop his eyes from staring and his mind from wandering off. He cleared his throat and tried to smile despite feeling like he might pass out at any moment.

"Hi, Ven!" She beamed.

His brain was desperately trying to reboot. It was just a blue screen all over his mind. Okay, he had to be polite and think about his words, otherwise he might say too much.

"Hi!" Great start. "How've you been?" Perfect.

"I'm great! I've been really looking forward to tonight!" Really?! Calm down, it's not for the same reasons as you. Kairi moved to give him entrance to the house. "I'm really excited! How about you? How have you been?"

"I've been good! It's been a busy week." He stepped inside lifting up the bag containing his armor. "Where can I...?"

"Right there." She pointed over to a table. He nodded and carefully set it down.

"Alright, do we get going right away?" He asked, heading back out the door.

"Yup!" She followed.

"Then lead the way!" He gestured with his hand with a grin.

They walked side by side down the road. Ven wondered if the air would get colder later or if it was always this warm. It wasn't really helping him cool down right now. Even if he was nervous, though, he wanted to talk to Kairi, so he started with the only thing on his mind at the moment.

"You look very beautiful tonight, but I can't figure out why…” He put a hand to his chin as if deep in thought. “Did you do something with your hair?" He joked.

She laughed as she brushed her fingers through it. "Not really, I've just been keeping it short for the past few months. And thank you." She looked him up and down. "You don't look too bad yourself. Where'd you get that outfit?"

"I had to buy it here..." he sighed and rubbed behind his neck.

"Really? Why’s that? You didn't have anything casual?" She put her arms behind her back and leaned a bit forward to look at him better. "Too many training clothes?"

"I do have clothes, but the fashion in my world is not the same as here. So I came to the shops in this world so I'd blend in better."

"Smart thinking!" She praised.

"Thanks!" He fell quiet after that. Normally conversations would flow naturally for him, it was always easy to talk. But right now, with his thoughts a bit overwhelmed just by the sight of her, it was harder to think of topics to chat about. Thankfully, he wasn't the only one in charge of carrying the conversation forward.

“Do you like parties? Or, you know, dancing in general?” Kairi asked.

“I do like dancing, but I've never gone to a party before.”

“You're kidding…”

“No, really! We've had small parties at the castle, but it had always been just the four of us.” He smiled remembering those times. “The Master wouldn't dance too often, but Terra, Aqua and I would have a blast just jumping around to the music.” 

Kairi remained silent so he continued. “At least that's what we did for three years. Maybe I once went to a party before that, but I just can't remember it…” He sighed. “Having amnesia kinda sucks…”

“Well…” Kairi started. “I'm glad I get to be a part of your new first party!” She grinned. He was glad too.

 

They kept talking on their way to school. They found other people their age walking the same way as them and it soon became apparent to Ventus this was a pretty big party.

The building where Kairi studied was huge. Maybe not as tall and majestic as the castle where he lived, but still very big.

Kairi told him they needed to head over to the gym, so he nodded and followed her. On the way there some people waved at her in greeting and she waved back. They didn't stop to properly say hello, so he had no time to react and wave or even acknowledge people were also looking at him. He just focused on not losing Kairi from sight in the sea of teenagers on the way.

The gym was loud. Very loud. Ven had traveled to noisy places such as Disney Town, where it was buzzing with activity, people talking, and music playing in the background. But this was just crazy. No wonder everyone was practically screaming at each other to be able to hold a conversation. The booming of the bass seemed to make his whole body vibrate to the rhythm.

The sight was a bit strange too. Strobing colored lights moved around and barely illuminated the otherwise dark room. Some other thin rays of light would spin around and form patterns as if they too were dancing with the young men and women.

Most of the people were dancing at center and some looked to be chatting over on the sides of the room, probably taking a break. Something heavy settled on the pit of his stomach, anxiousness taking over again. There were so many people, if he did something embarrassing everyone would see it and Kairi's night would surely be ruined. He hoped everything would turn out okay.

So distracted by the sight, the loudness of the music and his troubled thoughts, Ven didn't really process the fact that Kairi had taken his hand and pulled him aside closer to one of the walls of the building. They settled behind one of the speakers, where it was a bit less loud than at the center of the room.

“Alright!” She started. “The tables with food and drinks are that way.” She explained pointing to the back of the gym. “The exits over there and over here.” She pointed in opposite directions. “If you lose me, or I lose you, we can meet up again at the food table! Everything clear? Also, why are your hands so cold?”

“All clear!” He nodded. “And my hands are freezing most of the time…”

“Cool!” She took his hand again, and this time he did notice it. “Let's go dance now!” She dragged him back to the dance floor and he followed laughing.

He didn't know if it was just the beat of the music or the combined energy in the room, his anxiousness or Kairi's hand in his, but his heart beat wildly even before he started dancing. Maybe it was all of it combined.

Kairi let go of his hand and started moving and jumping around to her heart's content. Her enthusiasm sure was contagious and he soon pushed his troubles to the back of his mind and started dancing as well.

He could recognize most of the genres of music, but almost none of the songs. Still, the feeling of familiarity he had experienced before at home didn't leave him.

Ventus used some of the dance moves he had learned throughout the week, though he mostly just let himself get lost in the music. And in Kairi's eyes. She looked so bright dancing freely, so happy. It was as if her smile could light up the entire place. Would she have stayed at home the rest of the evening had he not offered to be her dance partner? Would she have been sad? He hoped not. Whatever the case, he was glad he had been able to bring her to this place.

 

They took some breaks from time to time, going over to the food table. They ate some snacks, drank some soda and joked around. Ven put a couple of toothpicks in his mouth and pretended to be a vampire, hiding behind his arm covered with his jacket and hissing. Kairi laughed and tried to get away from him as he chased her around the table.

It was at one of those breaks when they bumped into Riku. He had been drinking from a cup when he spotted them getting closer to the food, his neutral calm expression turning into one of total confusion. Ventus could swear he saw the smallest twitch in his eye.

“Riku!” Kairi exclaimed as she ran to hug him. He hugged her back, but sent a questioning look at her companion. Ventus smiled, rather awkwardly, and waved at him.

“Good to see you too, Kairi.” He broke their hug. “So this is who invited you?”

“Surprise!” She said, doing jazz hands. “So cool of Ven to bring me, right? Bet you didn't see that one coming!”

“You're right on that one…” Riku kept looking at Ventus with his brow slightly furrowed before he asked. “So what's up?”

Ven really couldn't figure out why Riku had created such tension in the air. He wondered if Kairi could feel it. He couldn't think of what to say under his intense stare either, so he shot the first thing that came to mind.

“The ceiling…?” There was a small pause… and then Kairi started snickering at his dumb joke. The tension left his body at her laugh and he smiled at her. Somehow, the joke had made the invisible walls around Riku crumble as well, his gaze softenting.

“Okay, but for real, how are you?” Riku smiled, offering his closed hand. Ven fist bumped him, grinning.

“I'm doing great! Been dancing all week!” He laughed.

“How'd you manage to come anyways? Don't you have training?”

“I do, but Terra and Aqua let me have a day off. They thought it was important to help out a friend.” Ven rubbed behind his neck. “I just wanted Kairi to have the chance to come to this party.” He smiled softly.

“Well thank you for that. I wanted to bring her myself, but she insisted I came with someone else.” Riku shook his head. “Can't ever think about yourself, can you?” He said punching her arm playfully. She sticked her tongue out at him.

“So I assume you did come with somebody. May I ask who?” Kairi questioned.

“Iris. I'm just taking a small break while I wait for her to come back from the bathroom.” He gestured vaguely with his hand towards one of the exits.

“Oh! You came with her in the end?” Kairi asked.

“Yeah. She was the first one to ask me to be her dance partner, so I thought it was only fair to pick her.”

Just then, the current subject of their conversation came in the room and walked over to them. Iris was a fine young woman who looked very pretty even if she just wore a black shirt and dark red skirt. She greeted them with a court nod, her short brown hair framing her smile.

She asked Riku if they could go back to the dance floor and he said he'd be there right away. He put his cup down and went to leave. On his way, he placed his hand on Ven's shoulder and said something in his ear. Ventus’ eyes widened, body tensed up, his breath caught in his throat, and face paled. He looked at Riku as he walked away towards the mass of teenagers dancing.

Kairi asked what was wrong, but he dodged the question and suggested they drink something then go back and dance with everyone else again as well. She stared at him for a moment before looking back towards where Riku had disappeared. She frowned. Had he threatened Ven or something? Because the boy looked pretty shaken up by whatever it was her best friend had said to him. She didn't take Riku to be the kind of guy to do that though; she'd ask him about it later.

They drank and ate in relative silence. Every attempt Kairi would make at conversation would be met by a small nod, smile or one word answers. Ven looked lost in thought and troubled. She didn't want him to feel bad, so she looked around to see if she could find something to distract him.

Bingo! There was a group of people circling someone. It looked like the person in the middle was showing off their dance moves. That looked awesome and distracting enough. Kairi patted Ven on the arm and pointed over to the circle before skipping closer to it. He followed behind.

They made their way between the mass of bodies to get a better look at the action, stopping at the inner edge of the circle. A girl was dancing at the center. She performed with precision and passion, demonstrating great control and strength of body. She was breakdancing. Twisting, turning, and twirling around, standing on her hands for a few seconds, trying to intimidate anyone who would dare match her skills.

Kairi was amazed. She had seen people dance like this before, but it was usually boys doing it. It was incredible seeing a girl looking so confident and having such talent at this kind of activity.

Ven observed the show for a while, then turned his head to look at his companion. Her eyes were sparkling and something stirred within him at her expression. He wanted her to look at him that way too... So he stepped forward.

Kairi admired the girl's dancing until she caught someone moving beside her. Her eyes widened as she stared dumbfounded. Ventus had gotten inside the circle. Ven was inside, stretching his arms, as the girl stopped her movement to squint at him, trying to figure out what he was about to do.

“Break time.” Ven muttered under his breath as he smiled in a friendly way to his new opponent. He jumped up on his hands and started spinning. Kairi's mouth fell open at the sight. He looked to be surrounded in a faint green glow and she wondered if it was a trick of the light or straight up magic. The people around the circle started cheering and she couldn't help but join in, screaming his name. 

He kept dancing for a while, following the beat of the music and of his heart. When he stopped, he nodded to the girl in front of him and gave a few steps back to give her room. She smirked and “counter attacked” with her own moves. The screams around them were louder.

Some adults came over to make sure the situation was under control and no one got out injured. They didn't say anything, just stood there keeping everything in order. A couple of them looked very impressed by the duo in the center, but otherwise stayed quiet.

Both teenagers continued back and forth like this for a while, until the music changed drastically and they decided to stop. They stepped closer to each other and shook their hands at the center, both smiling and a little out of breath.

“That was pretty cool. Where'd ya learn to dance?” The girl asked, resting a hand on her hip. The people that had been watching the dance show started dispersing and walking away, the adults following suit.

“At home. My friend taught me. And also my… dad gave me a couple pointers sometimes.” He shrugged. “But I learned a lot on my own too.”

“Cool. Well I'd love to do this again sometime if you're up to it.” She tilted her head upwards, smirking.

“I guess if I ever visit again I wouldn't mind.”

“Not from here?”

He shook his head. “Nope, I'm a prince from a faraway castle up in the stars!” He wiggled his fingers grinning.

“Sure.” She snorted. “Well, then I'll see ya when I see ya.” She waved a hand lazily and started walking away as well. “Later, Prince!”

Right as she left Ventus got pushed from the side. He looked down at Kairi who almost literally had stars in her eyes. She jumped up and down still holding on to his arm, shaking him up.

“That was unbelievably awesome! I didn't know you could do that!” She exclaimed. “What even was that? You gotta teach me one of these days!”

Ven beamed as his cheeks turned a faint pink. Mission accomplished! “Sure! Just tell me when and I'll do my best to teach you!”

“Are you serious? You'd really do it?”

“Of course! What are friends for?”

She hugged him tightly and thanked him, accidentally knocking the air out of him in her excitement. He hugged her back and tried to command his brain to stay calm and turn off the panic alarms going off inside it. They broke apart and Ven excused himself to go to the bathroom for a second. He needed to refresh a little after that intense dance session.

 

Ventus splashed water on his face, drank some of it and turned the faucet off. Okay, so far his plan was going great; he wasn't dead yet. He looked up at his reflection in the mirror. He didn't look dead either, but he sure was getting a bit tired.

Ven wondered what time it was and how long it had been since his usual bedtime. Because his training was pretty strict he needed to go to sleep and wake up early during the week. The only day he was allowed to sleep a little later was Saturday. He was definitely not a night owl, but he wasn't an early bird either. He was just a small bird doing his best.

He sighed. He didn't know if he could keep dancing for much longer, but if Kairi wanted to he wouldn't turn her down. He couldn't say no to her. How could he ever think of making that bright smile of hers disappear?

His mind began to wander back to her. His body felt so weak around her, but his heart beat with a strength he hadn't known he possessed. Did it have something to do with the fact that she was a Princess of Heart or was his dumb crush just really that big?

She wasn't doing him any favors tonight either with how gorgeous she looked. Well, she looked beautiful all the time, there was no denying that, but makeup sure made her shimmer somehow. 

He banged his head against the counter. Thoughts of things he'd love to do but couldn't crossed his mind, and he needed to get rid of them immediately. Like right now. Like please just go away. No, you stupid brain, I can't kiss her, stop thinking about it!

He straightened up and covered his face with his hands. A muffled scream was barely noticeable from outside the bathroom with all the noise around. Ventus took a deep breath and sighed. Touching his forehead carefully and wincing at the pain, he realized he probably shouldn't have hit himself so hard. Nothing a small cure couldn't fix, though.

He couldn't hide in there forever so he walked out the door, back towards the gym.

 

Kairi waited by the food table for Ven to come back. She was pretty excited by the idea of learning to dance like him and, maybe someday, look as cool and confident as that girl too.

She wouldn't consider herself to be very talented at anything involving physical activity, but she had been doing her best to improve on that. Training had been hard on her, not only on a physical level, but emotionally too, and at the end she hadn't been able to help much at the last fight. She wanted to change that though. Be prepared in case of an emergency.

In the end, she thought, any kind of physical ability she could master was something that could work in her favor. Even dancing, in this case.

She kept munching on snacks as she was lost in thought, when something grabbed her ankle. She gasped loudly and practically jumped out of her skin, the keyblade at the back of her heart ready to be summoned with just a command and a flick of the wrist. Ventus erupted in laughter from under the table and came crawling out.

It took a moment for him to be able to stand up straight, given how he was doubled over cackling. Once he was properly standing in front of her Kairi smacked him on the arm.

“Why would you do that?! You almost scared me to death! I was ready to hit you in the face with my keyblade!” she asked angrily.

“Honestly? I wouldn't have blamed you.” He kept laughing. “Sorry!”

“No, you're not sorry! You're lucky I'm so nice or I would've hit you anyways.”

He bowed, putting a hand over his heart and keeping the other one behind his back. “Thank you for sparing my life, Princess. I promise it won't happen again.” He looked up at her smiling, still bowing.

“Okay, I forgive you. Now let's go dance.” She sighed. “You know the party will end soon when the snacks start running out.”

“No, there's plenty of time. I think you're just ignoring the biggest snack here.” He said walking backwards towards the table.

“Really?” She raised an eyebrow. “Which one?”

Ven winked and sat on the table. “Me.”

Kairi stayed silent for a moment, seemingly shocked by the revelation, then burst out laughing. “You're so not the biggest snack here. That!” She sat down beside him and placed a hand to her chest. “Would be me.”

Ven chuckled and sighed overdramatically. “And here I thought I could finally be the best at something. But I guess you’re right, the title of Best Snack should totally go to you.”

“Thank you very much. Can we please go dance now? Just for a bit?” Kairi pleaded.

“Of course, but after that, could we go outside to get some fresh air?”

“Yeah, fresh air sounds incredibly nice right now,” she agreed.

Ventus jumped off the table and took Kairi’s hand in his, dragging her along with him. “Then let’s go dance, Snack!” She laughed as she followed behind him to the dance floor.

And dance they did. They jumped and moved wildly, making silly faces and laughing with each other. Ven couldn’t really tell for how long though. All the songs just blurred together as one inside his heart. Everything one big dance, one great long moment of happiness, in her company.

 

It was still warm outside. Not as hot as inside the gym with all the heat of at least a hundred teenagers dancing for hours, though. The music could still be heard in the background, but the sound of crickets was louder. It was a full moon tonight, Ven noticed now. He hadn’t really looked up to the sky since he left home. Not like he could’ve done that inside the building either.

They had decided to sit down on the grass sports field, getting some rest for their tired feet. Some other people were out here as well, but the place was big enough to have normal volume conversations without interrupting anybody else. Ven closed his eyes and took a deep breath, finally acknowledging the salty smell of the wind. They weren’t that close to the beach, but maybe the whole world just had that soft scent that lingered in the air.

Kairi laid on her back and stretched. It was nice resting for a little while from the loud music and booming stereos. The stars looked very pretty, but the light from the moon made some disappear from sight. She could only recognize a few constellations. Sora had always been better at that. He had learned many to try and be the best sailor (or pirate) out there.

She shook her head. Now was not the time to think about him. Tonight was about dancing and having fun, not about remembering how much she missed him.

Ventus laid down next to her. They stayed quiet for a few minutes before he decided to break the silence. She turned her face towards him, leaving the stars out of her sight.

“Thank you for letting me be here with you tonight…” Ven turned his head to face her as well. “I've had a really great time.”

“No, thank you. I wouldn’t be here at all if you hadn’t offered to accompany me.” She smiled at him. His heart skipped a beat, but he smiled back. “It's really been a fun night.” She looked back up at the night sky.

He felt the urge to lift his hand and brush some of her hair behind her ear, letting his fingers caress her cheek. He refrained from doing it, but not from letting his eyes say what his heart couldn't form the words to. He truly was grateful to be here with her, but he didn't know how to show it properly aside from what he had already told her. So he stayed quiet.

She felt his gaze still on her and turned to ask what was wrong. But the sparkle in his eyes caught her off guard. Combined with his smile it almost seemed as if he was lost in a daydream. She couldn't quite tell what that look was or what it meant, but she had the small feeling that someone had looked at her that way before. She felt her cheeks go red for some reason.

“What?” She laughed nervously. “Do I have something on my face?” She touched her cheek, partly to make it seem as if she was looking for something out of place, partly to try and cool her face down.

“No, it's nothing, sorry.” He looked away and searched for something on the stars. “I wonder which one's the Land of Departure…”

She, however, wondered what had happened and searched his face for traces of the look he had just given her. Someone else flashed before her eyes for a moment, but not long enough for her to recognize him. She let go of it, giving up on trying to figure out any hidden meaning behind his gentle smile.

Kairi gazed at the dark canvas above them, filled with small lights that danced in place. “Maybe it's that one.” She pointed up at the sky. “Or that other one.” She pointed a bit to her left, closer to Ven.

“Or maybe we can't even see it yet and it's on the other side of the world,” he said.

“Could be…”

The music in the background had changed a little while ago. It was no longer a big-energy crazy party kind of song. Instead, Ventus noticed, it was a waltz. 

Weird. Why would they do that? Wasn't this supposed to be a casual party-? Wait! Had his research been correct? They did play slower songs towards the end of the dance!

Ven sat up quickly, beaming and filled with excitement. He turned over to Kairi who looked at him curiously from her laying position on the grass. 

He stood up and leaned down with his hand extended towards her. “May I have this dance? You know, one more for the road before they kick us out?”

She laughed, nodded, and took his hand. Ventus helped her up in one swift motion.

“Do you know how to dance waltz?” he asked.

“I've got an idea, but I've never tried to before. I know it's the 1 2 3 thing?” She gestured bobbing a finger in the air three times.

He nodded. “Okay, then we'll start slow! Here, let me just-” He took her hand then (wishing his were warmer so he didn't have to freeze hers, why were they always so cold?), guided her other hand to his shoulder (praying he wasn't shaking; they were very close right now), and placed his free hand on her back with delicacy.

And so they started step, step, close… step, step, close. He lead her backwards as he stepped forward. Slowly turning with each repetition, they continued dancing in a wide circle. Each time Ventus saw that Kairi was getting the hang of it he knocked the speed up a little. He did this until they matched the tempo of the song.

After some time like this he decided to spice things up a little, letting go of her back and twirling her in place through their connected hands. She giggled as he brought her back towards him.

He couldn't take his eyes off of her. And didn't want to either. He was thankful that she was looking down, too preoccupied with where she stepped, and didn't catch his look.

But as all good things must come to an end, so did the song. She looked up at him then, smiling and still in his arms. His heartbeat was loud in his ears again.

He slowly let go of her, though he wished he didn't have to. Did the air get colder or did he just miss her touch all of a sudden?

Ventus bowed like he had done earlier that night. “Thank you, Princess, for this one last chance to dance with you tonight.”

“Come on, stop that!” Kairi laughed amused. “I'm not a princess!”

“I mean, technically…” He stood up straight.

“Okay, sure, a Princess of Heart. But I'm no royalty. You don't need to bow!”

“But it's fun!” he protested.

“Well then find another fun thing to do!”

“Okay. How about we go with something more classic then?” He grinned with mischief before touching her arm. “Tag! You're it!”

He bolted away towards the gym and she screamed behind him as she pursued. The music was less loud inside. The lights were on, the place no longer being illuminated by the colorful dancing beams of light. He ran to the food tables and hid underneath one of them, taking some snacks on the way.

He tried to catch his breath and eat at the same time. Not a good idea, but he was a bit hungry so being a little out of breath wasn't going to stop him.

Kairi ran inside the gym, looking around to see where her friend had disappeared to. She really needed to work on her speed. 

A lot of the students were leaving, being ushered out by the adults in charge. People were taking down decorations, and equipment and tables were being moved. And that's when she spotted him. Two people carried a table out and he appeared under it, curled up on himself sitting on the floor, with his mouth stuffed with food.

She sneaked around to try and get him without being seen. He looked up, noticing that the table was no longer above him to protect him. She kneeled down behind his back, lifted her arms around him and covered his eyes with her hands. Ventus froze up. She had caught him.

“Tag, you're it.” She released him. He quickly turned around, his mouth sill full, with surprise written all over his face. She smiled. “Why'd you hide under a table again?”

He took a moment to finish eating, holding up a finger in the air to tell her to give him a second, before he answered quietly. “I was hungry…”

Kairi laughed. She had done that a lot tonight, she noted. “Sure. Now come on, they're kicking us out for real now.” She stood up. “And you're still it.” She screamed as she quickly exited the building again, Ven soon following her.

 

The walk back had been just as pleasant as it had been earlier to school. Ven still had felt somewhat lightheaded and with a butterfly filled stomach, but he had learned to ignore it a bit for the time being.

Once at Kairi's home he put on his armor and said his goodbyes wishing her a good night sleep. She hugged him, thanked him for the evening, and reminded him of his promise to teach her how to breakdance. He chuckled saying he would, summoning his keyblade glider and hopping up on it. Forget going to the beach to do it. It was pretty late and the place was deserted, surely no one would see him.

“We should hang out more often.” She suggested before he could take off. “I have a lot of fun with you.” She smiled, resting her hands behind her back.

Ventus was so thankful he had his helmet on, his face surely was incredibly red. Or maybe it just felt that way inside with all the metal covering him.

“Yeah! I'd love to hang out with you too!” He quickly replied. His heart raced just by the thought of spending more time with her. Kairi's smile brightened. “We could invite the others too if you want… But, uh… you can just send me a text and I'll ask Terra and Aqua to give me a free day from training!”

“Sure! I'll see you around!” She waved.

“See ya!” He flew off and disappeared through a portal. This time his scream was a victorious one.

 

Kairi, already in her pajamas, turned on her night light and picked up a pencil. She had such a fun evening, it deserved to be written down. She liked to write poems and letters, but just recording her day was pretty enjoyable too.

After a few minutes of writing the front door opened and closed. It was only a moment later that his father quietly knocked on her door. She told him to come in, so he did and sat at the end of her bed.

He apologized for arriving so late, saying that things at work got a little complicated, but that everything was fine now. He asked about her day and she told him about all the fun she and Ven had had that evening, going into more detail on certain things like the breakdancing girl or Ven hiding under the table. His father expressed how happy he was for her, because she seemed a bit down lately, but her smile truly shined tonight. Yeah… she had agreed, she was happy…

Her father said goodnight and told her not to stay up too late writing; he knew she sometimes lost track of time because of it. She promised to go to sleep soon and kept placing words on paper as soon as her door was shut.

After some time she turned her light off and closed her eyes, ready for sleep to take her away for the night. Ven was such a cool guy, and so fun to be around! She couldn't wait to hang out with him again soon. 

 

Ventus flopped down on his bed, Chirithy soon crawling up beside him. He hugged his spirit friend close to his chest. Aqua and Terra had asked him about the party, but he kept his answer short, assuring them it had been great and that he'd tell them more about it the next day.

He replayed the whole night in his head, smiling, stopping at the memory of waltzing with her. He closed his eyes. She had been so close to him, but still so far and out of reach. But… that was okay… As long as he could keep being near her he'd be fine. Maybe his crush would go away one of these days too.

He realized he had successfully sticked to his plan. He wasn't dead! And, oh boy, was he glad to be alive. Would he be able to sleep tonight? He was still buzzing with energy. He should've asked her to dance once more…

He felt all over the place. He thought of how she had caught him staring at her, and hoped she hadn't been able to really read him. His eyes had probably said too much even if he had stayed relatively quiet. 

He turned off his light. His mind wandered back to what Riku had told him as he was leaving. Riku knew, and he was right. It was hard, but Ven needed to remember to keep his emotions in check. He hugged Chirithy tighter. After all, you really did need to “Be careful wearing your heart on your sleeve.” But he'd think more about it tomorrow. Now he just hoped he'd be able to rest, and have a nice dreamless sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> I still don't know how the heck I wrote so much. I don't know if I'll ever write as much again.
> 
> Also, I don't know if you've noticed by know, (you should have), but this is a slow burn. So... 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed! Please let me know what you thought in a comment! What was your favorite part? What do you think will happen in the future? Whatever you'd like to tell me!  
> You don't need to write something too long if you don't want to. Just a simple "I like this" can be enough :^)
> 
> Have a nice day and stay awesome <3


End file.
